Verizon Android world phone at the FCC

If there's ever been any doubt that Verizon is the current king of Android, you can put it to rest now. The HTC PD42100 -- a horizontal slider dual CDMA/GSM "world phone" that we've seen once before -- has made its way through the Federal Communications Commission. In addition to being able to work overseas, it's sporting Wifi b/g/n a 4-inch display, and possibly one of the fastest processors ever crammed into a production phone. (We'll have to see on that, of course.) And then, of course, there is the keyboard. If anybody knows how to make a horizontal slider, it's HTC.

No word on pricing or availability just yet, but we're going to sit here waiting, not so patiently, for this guy.[FCC via Engadget]

Reader comments

Verizon Android world phone at the FCC

I know this will please all those who still need qwerty's, but imo this thing is ugly. The keyboard really detracts from the phone. I dunno many businessmen who are gonna want to be seen with a fire engine red phone....

It's obvious that person does not have the common sense that you have. Look at the HTC Incredible, when it was in pre production it was completely red. Now look at it, only thing red is the guts of the phone. Damn, I guess people with simple common sense is hard to come by these days.

i've said it once and i'll say it again...if its a great phone, who cares what it looks like? honestly, are you going to not get a phone because you do not like the way it looks? what if it has android 3.0, a 3ghz processor, a slide out qwerty(or not depending on what formfactor you like) and is a world phone, if it was pink with purple polk a dots, would it really matter?

anything with slide out keyboard is ugly to me, i had the epic for 3 days and return it because i couldn't take it any more, beautiful screen and everything but that keyboard makes it look and feel clunky, i went back to the evo.

Right Now i'm running the Droid Incredible with 2.2, But i have missed using a GOOD Qwerty keyboard. IF this new HTC Android has: 8mp camera, 720p video recording, Android 0S 2.2 or higher, and from what i have heard and read it will have a 1.2 Ghz. possessor But i would like for it to have a 1.5 Ghz.......If they can make it with all those Tweaks and more( over all better then the Incredible)Then i will upgrade.

At this rate, there'll be a 3GHz quad-core processor, with 4 gigs of ram and 250gigs of on board memory, which is still expandable. The phone itself will be light as a feather, 1/8 of an inch thick (with a sliding keyboard) and a battery that lasts a week with regular use.

It kinda looks like the G2 except with a red and black keyboard and no track pad I don't get how people say this phone is ugly and the G2 is sexy when they are kinda similar all that matters is that android will rule the world by 2012

Wouldn't this most likely be the HTC Merge? I'm all about this phone, but a 4" screen with a slide out keyboard my be too big. I just hope it isn't cumbersome while in your pocket. I worry that it will cost more than $199.

Its a phone with two radio chips. (Or a single chip with two radios on board). CDMA are always carrier locked. GSM may or may not be.

When you travel you can buy an in-country sim for the GSM phone, but you are always locked to your carrier for the CDMA side.

This use to require complete duplication of the Radios. Two chips. In recent months single package dual radio chipsets have finally become available making this cheaper, which is why these phone are starting to appear.

These are the closest thing you can get to a World Phone, although some manufacturers like Samsung call something a world phone if they happen to make a model that works on both network types. Galaly S phones are called World Phones, even though any given Galaxy S will only work on one network type CDMA OR GSM, not both. Not Either.

Verizon is the only real market for this phone in the US, because they are the only ones still stuck on CDMA. You can get roaming from Verizon when you travel to a non CDMA country, and they will even loan you a GSM only cheap ass cellphone, but the service is way too expensive. People who travel frequently either use two phones or buy one of these dual radio phons, and most travelers to the EU simply insert an In-Country SIM for the GSM side, and soon learn that CDMA is a wasteland and move to a GSM carrier with an unlocked phone.

Now, are you SURE you know what Dual Band CDMA/GSM means? Because you sound like your a Razr user from the 90s.

I guess you're forgetting Sprint as well.. but CDMA are not always carrier locked.. obviously you've never seen a Moto Droid on Cricket.. and as far as the GSM.. since Verizon is 'the only real market for a world phone in the US'. On Verizon world phones.. theres an international support number you can call in the phone book by default.. call them up and they'll give you the unlock code and the GSM is unlocked. And is nowadays usually quadband so it works on most international GSM networks. Something you're forgetting about CDMA vs GSM.. CDMA share the same bands here in the US... different in China and smaller parts of Asia that use it. GSM here uses different bands for 3G service. Get a world phone and have the best service in the US and an awesome unlocked GSM phone in EU when you travel.

So you will be able to use this phone in EU with a prepaid SIM, there's no questions about it.

So that wasteland known as CDMA works and works well here, this is simply a simplification for those that use the most solid, reliable network in the US and would like to use their device across the pond.

Now are you SURE you know what you're talking about.. because the Moto RAZR didn't even exist until 2003-04.

The design of this keyboard looks a lot nicer than the one on my Motorola Droid. I really wish they would have put more thought into keyboard design from the start. I am not sure how much better the keyboard is on the Droid2, but this one looks like a winner.

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